“South Korea’s aviation industry has faced skepticism about its safety and pilot habits since a few deadly crashes beginning in the 1980s. But despite changes, including an improved safety record, Korea’s aviation sector remains rooted in a national character that’s largely about preserving hierarchy—and asking few questions of those in authority.”The Korean culture has two features—respect for seniority and age, and quite an authoritarian style,” said Thomas Kochan, a professor at the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “You put those two together, and you may get more one-way communication—and not a lot of it upward.”

In the Korean language, you speak to superiors and elders in an honorific form that requires more words and can be more oblique than in English, for example. It’s less, “Yo! You want water?”; and more, “It’s a warm day for a nice refreshment, no?” This may sound trivial. But put this in the context of a cockpit, where seconds and decision-making are crucial, and communication and culture can matter…….”

Should we discuss the alcohol drinking and drug consumption abuses of the Western culture flying pilots now?………

“During the study period, random alcohol testing yielded a total of 440 violations, with an overall prevalence rate of 0.09% and a prevalence rate of 0.03% for flight crews. Alcohol violations were associated with an increased yet not statistically significant risk of accident involvement (odds ratio 2.56, 95% confidence interval 0.81–7.08) and were attributed to 0.13% of aviation accidents.”

Look at the USA conclusion on its own bad habits:

“Alcohol violations among U.S. major airline employees with safety-sensitive functions are rare and play a negligible role in aviation accidents.”

“In January 1988 a Continental Express plane crashed near Denver, Colorado, killing both pilots and seven passengers. Although the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) could not determine which pilot was flying the aircraft, the primary pilot was found to have sufficient cocaine in his body to indicate usage within the previous 24 hours.

Further information came to light in a Washington Post article. It reported that the co-pilot “had been convicted twice of drunken-driving offenses, was considered a problem drinker, and had been ordered to attend two alcohol education and therapy programs.” The article further states that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had also documented that the primary pilot had not reported his convictions on eight traffic infractions in the four years before the crash.

“Federal law requires such disclosure,” the article went on to report. “The traffic violations would
not necessarily result in FAA sanction, but failure to disclose them could result in revocation of a pilot’s license.”

“According to the Federal Aviation Administration,” says physician/author Joseph Pursch, “20
percent of the fatal aircraft accidents in general aviation in 1971 involved alcohol. A study of naval
aviators hospitalized at Bethesda Naval Hospital’s neuro-psychiatric service between 1960-1970 indicates that 22 percent were diagnosed as having chronic alcoholism and that 54 percent were heavy drinkers.”“

“Young men in South Korea must serve mandatory military service, so some air force veterans transition to civilian aviation careers. (Some American veterans, who have served after Sept. 11, are also transitioning into aviation jobs.)

But sometimes that transition into the private sector comes with military baggage. (We are not talking about USA NSA military snooping on CONUS US Citizens, violating the Fourth (4th) Amendment of the US Constitution on “illegal search and seizures”! Of course not!)

Korea’s authoritarian structure, not surprisingly, is reflected in its industries including aviation, where co-pilots traditionally have not been encouraged to challenge senior pilots. Military training only adds to constant self-awareness about where you are in an organization’s pecking order—and not speaking out of turn.

While workplace trends are modernizing, many Korean companies still promote and reward seniority—over merit and achievements. And it’s this constant reminder of a pecking order that can grip a military unit, an aviation cockpit—even a national soccer system. “

But nobody is questioning Apple, anymore, for the Foxconn factory Chinese workers tentative suicides at its factories in China because of overbearing personnel procedures……

“Around 150 Chinese workers at Foxconn, the world’s largest electronics manufacturer, threatened to commit suicide by leaping from their factory roof in protest at their working conditions. ”

“The workers were eventually coaxed down after two days on top of their three-floor plant in Wuhan by Foxconn managers and local Chinese Communist party officials.

Foxconn, which manufactures gadgets for the likes of Apple, Sony, Nintendo and HP, among many others, has had a grim history of suicides at its factories. A suicide cluster in 2010 saw 18 workers throw themselves from the tops of the company’s buildings, with 14 deaths. ”

“Emotional security is the measure of the stability of an individual‘s emotional state. Emotional insecurity is a feeling of general unease or nervousness that may be triggered by perceiving of oneself to be vulnerable in some way, or a sense of vulnerability or instability which threatens one’s self-image or ego.”